We theoretically investigate methods of controlling pulse generation in normal-dispersion fiber optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifiers. We focus on high-energy, ultrashort pulses at wavelengths widely separated from that of the pump, and find that within this regime, a number of simple properties describe the essential phase and gain dynamics. Of primary importance are the relationships between the chirps of the pump, seed, and parametric gain, which we theoretically predict and then experimentally validate. By properly arranging these parameters, the signal and idler waves can be widely customized to fulfill a remarkable range of application requirements, spanning from narrowband to few-cycle.
